Monday, December 13, 2010

As is the tradition in many workplaces, my work does a Secret Santa gift exchange every year. We don’t do it company wide but instead the fun is limited to our smaller – 15 or so – department and also limited to $15 per gift. A few weeks ago, when the particulars of the how, when, where and who of our exchange was going down, I shared with most of our team a very tongue-in-cheek gift I had in mind for one of our peers who was notably absent. It was affirmed by laughs. Two days later when it was time to draw, I shamelessly rigged my turn (of course I went first) to ensure I drew out this man’s name. Within a week, not only did most every know who I had, another person gave me a used version of the proposed gift to the collective chagrin of our team. Another “win” for the class clown alive and well in my soul.

But then another one of my co-workers – bless her heart – revealed that she prayed before her turn at the draw. Huh. A sharp contrast to my brazen attempts to work the system/showcase my subtle yet poignant wit (guilt trip starting now). But really – prayer over who she draws in the secret Santa? Is my faith so jaded (or maybe so grounded) that I think this level of spirituality seems so over the top? Does God really care who we pick in the office Secret Santa? It seems to me he has more important matters to consider like AIDS, global poverty, widespread economic failure, wars, cancer and the recent release of the entire collection of the Beattles music on iTunes than who I have to spend $15 dollars on.